[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 39 (Monday, February 28, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page ]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-4491]


[Federal Register: February 28, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Inventory Completion of Native American Human Remains and 
Funerary Objects From Hawaii in the Control of the U.S. Marine Corps 
Air Station, Kaneohe Bay

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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    Notice is hereby given in accordance with provisions of the Native 
American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 25 U.S.C. 3003(d), of 
the completion of the inventory of human remains and funerary objects 
from Hawaii in the control of the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station, 
Kaneohe Bay. The remains are curated in the Bernice Pauahi Bishop 
Museum, Honolulu, HI.
    A detailed inventory and assessment of these human remains and 
funerary objects has been made for the U.S. Marine Corps by the staff 
of the Bishop Museum, in consultation with representatives of Hui 
Malama I Na Kupuna 'O Hawai'i Nei and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. 
The latter two organizations qualify as Native Hawaiian organizations 
as defined in 25 U.S.C. 3001(11).
    The human remains and funerary objects represent a minimum of 1582 
individuals and 281 funerary objects recovered from the Mokapu 
Peninsula, U.S. Marine Corps Air Station, Kaneohe Bay, Island of Oahu, 
and curated at the Bishop Museum. The majority of the remains were 
recovered during archaeological excavations conducted in 1938-1940 by 
Gordon T. Bowles (University of Hawaii) and Kenneth P. Emory (Bishop 
Museum), and in 1957 by Robert N. Bowen (University of Hawaii). The 
rest of the remains were recovered from inadvertent discoveries and 
archaeological monitoring of construction activities on the peninsula.
    A minimum of 1,544 individuals were recovered from pre-contact 
(prior to 1778) graves. A number of these individuals were represented 
by incomplete sets of skeletal remains, and several of the isolated 
individuals represented secondarily deposited incomplete sets of 
remains removed from their original context. The pre-contact funerary 
objects included kupe'e (wristlets made of dog teeth), basalt flakes, 
marine shells, kukui (Aleurites moluccana) nuts, and the bones of fish, 
birds, pigs, dogs, and turtles.
    A minimum of 38 individuals were recovered from post-Contact (after 
1778) graves during a construction project in 1975. The post-Contact 
funerary objects included kupe'e, and lei 'opu'u and lei niho (pendants 
made of calcite, shell, and whale bone), as well as bone and shell 
buttons, metal fragments, mirror glass, bottle fragments, a metal ring, 
ivory beads, bone and glass, metal nails, and metal parts of a smoking 
pipe.
    Based on the Bishop Museum report of the results of the inventory 
and assessment, officials of the U.S. Marine Corps have determined 
that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (2), there is a relationship of shared 
group identity which can be reasonably traced between these remains and 
present-day Native Hawaiian organizations. U.S. Marine Corps officials, 
based on the Bishop Museum report, determined that no lineal 
descendants of the human remains could be identified.
    This notice has been sent to officials of Hui Malama I Na Kupuna 'O 
Hawai'i Nei and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Representatives of any 
other Native Hawaiian organization which believes itself to be 
culturally affiliated with these human remains and funerary objects 
should contact Mr. John Bigay, Planner-in-Charge, Pacific Division, 
Naval Engineering Facilities Command, Pearl Harbor, HI, 96860-7300, 
(808) 471-9338, before April 1, 1994.
    Dated: February 23, 1994.
C. Timothy McKeown,
Acting Departmental Consulting Archeologist, Chief, Archeological 
Assistance Division.
[FR Doc. 94-4491 Filed 2-25-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-F